iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

I came across this site as the owner is posting links on many didj related forums. Frankly, their product is a pvc or abs pipe that has been slightly heated, bent and painted in faux-wood designs with Aboriginal Style motifs and I thought I'd let you guys know about it so you can contact them if you wish.

Quality didgeridoos? I don't think so.

http://www.quality-didgeridoos.com/

Hi Kyle,
Thanks for the info. Here is some desc. from his site ''Feather River Didgeridoos offer an entry level, high quality, reasonably priced alternative to the eucalyptus branches! Our didges are made from
durable poly-resin, and lovingly stained and hand painted to represent the real thing. ;;

The last part : to represent the real thing says it all

tourist junk!

M.

I was actually thinking of getting a couple

Hi,
i just got an answer from the owver who turns out to be a very polite and understanding person, below is his reply with some question at the bottom to which we can make some suggestions.

Dear Mahir,
I appreciate your concern and am glad there are
people like yourself out there working towards
aboriginal rights, which we totally believe in.
In fact, we give credit to the Aboriginal creators
of the didge in the "What is a Didgeridoo?" section of
our site, and a beautiful tribute to them as well at
the end of our DVD which ships with every didge we
sell. Also on our site is a page of information on
Aboriginal history and art.
As far as our site being misleading about the creators
and materials, the first thing you read on our
homepage is that our didges are made from poly-resin,
and again in the"What is a Didgeridoo?" section. A
look at our company history page explains that we are
just a couple of white guys from N. Calif., obviously
not Australian Natives.
Our goal is introduce the masses to an easy to play
entry-level instrument. At our craft shows, we always
encourage players to step up to a real wood instrument
when they are ready.
Having clarified that, we do have concerns about
proper tribute to the Aboriginal people in general,
whom we hold in the highest respect.
So we are open to suggestions. Would you reccommend
that we possibly post a disclaimer of sorts on our
site? How would that be worded? We have also
considered a charitable contribution to Aboriginal
rights/support groups, problem is, it's difficult to
know which are legitimate. Possibly you could provide
info on the groups you are affiliated with.
Thanks for your concern, and looking forward to
hearing your ssuggestions.
Sincerely,
Scott & Dan Shaw
Feather River Didgeridoos

They seem pretty straight forward to me. I don't see anything deceptive or unethical on the webpage or in their thoughtful reply. I personally don't think there is anything wrong with making and selling entry level didges. I know I would never have gotten into it without my purchase of a $20 bamboo didgeridoo.

I guess one could make the argument that it is unethical to replicate Australian aboriginal art dot-style, but that is so ubiquitous that its a non-issue to me at least. To me their designs bear little resemblance to the real thing anyway. However, I would like to see didge makers of this kind move away from the dot thing, its really not very creative.

Indeed. If they're happy to state that these are nothing close to the real Aboriginal-made product then why feel the need to decorate them in pseudo-Aboriginal motifs? It is the Aboriginal people who use such motifs in their art and culture that can be most upset by such things.

We, the experienced members of the didj scene, are aware that these are cheap plastic beginner instruments (I find the term poly-resin misleading as these appear to be molded from mass manufactured piping), but the uneducated are not, and although these guys are including information on the Aboriginal history and culture surrounding this instrument, which I commend, calling the website 'Quality Didgeridoos' is more than misleading.

I'm sure these guys are well-meaning, but they seem pretty green to the whole thing and even folks with the best intentions often overstep the line when they really haven't undertaken enough research. I would suggest they contact Guan and visit some Arnhem Landers to see what role the didjeridu really plays in Aboriginal society and get a better idea of the big picture before jumping into this already overpopulated retail scene.

Posting blatent advertisements in forums owned by other retail operators is never a good idea and I'm aware of two occasions already where these guys have done just that.

i don't see anything wrong with this guys....
after all even you Kyle advertise you site in every single post you make (is in your signature!! )

True, I advertise my site in my signature, but this has been agreed in advance with the forum administrators. I don't post blatent ads in forums hosted by other retailers (serioussticks and here for example) which is exactly what these guys did. They have obviously done a google search for 'didgeridoo forum' and posted a blanket ad on all of them. Bear in mind that we are all fairly knowledgeable when it come to this instrument, but there are many out there who are not. This text, filled with misinformation, was posted on several forums and does not allude to the fact that this operation retails plastic instruments. You'll have to agree that this is misleading:

The didgeridoo is one of the worlds oldest musical instruments, originating with the Australian Aborigines, whose historical culture spans over 50,000 years!

It is a wind instrument, played by blowing air into it, creating a low, resonant droning tone that can be varied by movement of the mouth and cheeks. The sound is very relaxing, and is a perfect compliment to hand-drums and other percussion. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower the pitch or key of the instrument. Keys from D to F#9839; are the preferred pitch of traditional Aboriginal players.

Real Australian didgeridoos are made by termites hollowing out fallen eucalyptus branches, and then fine tuned and intricately painted by a native craftsperson.

Hope you like it

Feather River Didgeridoos
http://www.quality-didgeridoos.com

This is a question of respect and they didn't have any for the owners of the forums in which they were posting. Frankly, I think that's rude.

My real issue is with the use of faux Aboriginal decoration which, as I've stated earlier, is not necessary.

I do agree that advertisement is misleading. It makes it seem like they are selling eucalyptus didges tuned and painted by Aboriginals. Not only that, but they also give wrong information about the termites/hollowing process. Termites don't hollow out fallen branches, but living trees.

Hi there

Giving credit and respect to the Australian Aborigines is not enougt when you copy like and use it for selling merchandise when we know in what condition these Aboriginals people live.There is something that is just not right .To me and its my own opinion here its stealling from an cultural heritage that we dont own and have no rights on. Ok for many people its nothing its on the net so we take it ...its not very creative to me .This is how a culture disappear ,everybody is taking something from and finnaly become a "popular culture" to not say circus .

GGW

im still thinking of getting one

They're too expensive for you Stockie.

There are a couple of issues at hand here that are worth discussing. The most offensive is the blatant commercial posting to the SS forum and other 'didgeridoo forums'. This is a discussion forum, and I very much doubt that kylie will participate beyond 'Here's our site- buy an entry level instrument'. They'll just move on to another forum, post, and repeat while marketing their instruments. I can look past that, however, because it's a common MO on internet forums of any shape and color.

Then there is the cultural question that should be addressed. As a writer, I strive to say original things and not be formulaic or draw too heavily from my contemporaries and my influences. The same certainly goes for art- appropriating motifs from cultures outside of your own (especially when such motifs are not yours to take) is bland and reconstituted. It just seems strange to me that stylistic and aesthetic appropriation from other cultures happens in the first place- because there isn't a connection to identity implicit in those designs and motifs in the hands of the person doing the appropriation.


Jason

Guess ill just have to save up then but it will be worth it in the end cant wait to get one

Hi there

Jason wrote


Yep totally agree with this .To me its not the same at all , Kyle is selling aboriginals work he is supporting them ,he buy their works and promote Arnhem Land Aboriginal culture whats wrong with this ? .He is working for them .I cannot say the same about those plastic didgeridoo seller .They take everything they can to make those plastic didgeridoo look like "the real thing " or to be an alternative .Nomather what if the resemblance is close or way out its making it more insulting for Aboriginals. Im not saying here those sellers have bad intentions but what if they were on the other side ....

GGW